I have tried numerous ceiling stones, mostly the cheaper kind, which used to crack on me, and use a 12" BGE right now with exceptional results.

Bottom stones are a 15" cordierite from American Metalcraft and a Fibra-D stone on top of it. All three get nicely hot but I usually stop raising the temp when they reach 850 - 900 F for the bottom and 700 - 750 F for the top, which takes about 15 - 20 mins. The pizza is around 3" from the top stone, but I am able to either lower or raise the top stone, depending on the outcome of the pie and how well it's cooked from the top.

When I raise or lower the top stone in my LBE, it also affects the air flow going over the pie. The closer the stone is to the opening of top vent, the more hot air get forced over the pizza and out the side vent, which benefits oven spring and shortens bake time. The downside, however, is that it takes a little longer...perhaps a minute or so...to get a nicely charred crust going, but in turn, the bottom might cook faster so keep your eyes peeled on how fast the bottom of the pie cooks.

I currently have another idea/modification in the works, which would eliminate one of the two bottom stones altogether and should increase the hot air flow "over and out" immensely. I'll post pics as soon as it's ready to go.

I'd say 2.5" - 3" is best if the temp of the top stone is monitored.

Hope that helps.

Mike

« Last Edit: April 19, 2008, 12:23:04 AM by Essen1 »

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Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

I made a LBE last summer and put the Essen1 mods to it last week. I added the same chimney pipe & four-sided vent and cut the lid open for the peel. I think these mods have really improved the set up. Within 30 seconds the pizza started leoparding around where the vent is located. I rotated the pizza 3-4 times at 15 second intervals. I still need to tweak the dough formulation and the overall temperature of the LBE, but man I was excited how well the pizza came out; best Neapolitan style I've been able to make.

I used a 75/25 Caputo pizza 00/KA bread63% Water2.25% Salt (need to cut it to 2%).04% IDYtf=0.12-day cold rise.

This set up will definitely work with 100% Caputo; might have to cut water to 62% for that.

I made a LBE last summer and put the Essen1 mods to it last week. I added the same chimney pipe & four-sided vent and cut the lid open for the peel. I think these mods have really improved the set up. Within 30 seconds the pizza started leoparding around where the vent is located. I rotated the pizza 3-4 times at 15 second intervals. I still need to tweak the dough formulation and the overall temperature of the LBE, but man I was excited how well the pizza came out; best Neapolitan style I've been able to make.

Has anyone adjusted the stone height in the LBE so the pizza would be raised higher in the chamber - if so what happened?

I'm glad the mods worked for you. Here's another tip in regards to air flow and temp control. I sometimes cover some of the openings of the four-sided vent with some foil, especially during the warm-up phase, which in turn forces more of the hot air over the stones and out the side vent.

Do you have any pics of your LBE, by any chance?

Y-Town,

I use two bottom stones. One round cordierite, which is an inch thick incl. its feet, and a Fibra-D on top, which has a thickness of 3/4", I believe. Works all pretty well. I adjust the distance, however, with the top stone.

Mike

« Last Edit: April 29, 2008, 04:15:03 PM by Essen1 »

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Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

You and I should give praise to Villa Roma for coming up with such an ingenious design!

It's a revolution in terms of affordable homemade pizza ovens. And it's not slap at Willard's design of the 2stone, don't get me wrong. The only difference is the LBE doesn't rotate. But I'm on that, too, together with my metal shop buddy...

So...Villa in Germany...thank you and big Kudos to ya'. And a big TY to Willard who actually took it a step further.

Mike

« Last Edit: April 29, 2008, 11:26:42 PM by Essen1 »

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Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

Personally, I don't think it's possible with a Weber, except for the idea VR had (Lazy Susan). But do you really want to rotate the entire BBQ, instead of just the stone a la Willard? Just think about the impact it would have on the air flow...and being consistent.

Perhaps installing the burner a little off center, running a rod down the middle of a high heat resistant metal plate, which would hold the stone, then equip it with ball bearings for a smooth ride and that should do it.

It would mean, however, that the stone gets heated by the "quarter" only, and you'd be required to turn it every so often during heat up time. Willard solved it by installing a motor somehow, for a continuous spin during heat up.

Ingenious.

Finger,

you should chat with VR, since he installed and tried out a LS. He might have some valuable tips for you.

Mike

« Last Edit: May 09, 2008, 01:32:01 AM by Essen1 »

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Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

Wuzup Home Skillets? Ha, as you may have gathered from the opening line, I've incorporated a fresh new exciting mod to my LBE. Yes, I picked up a skillet or technically a griddle and mounted it in the lid in place of the stone that was originally there. I surgically removed the handles and drilled a hole in the skillet and then mounted it to the lid via a centrally located hole with a furniture T nut and a 1/4" x 20 bolt.

The clearance between the cooking surface and the skillet is just shy of 2", perfecto as they say in Italy. The skillet is one heavy duty chunk of metal tipping the scales at a massive 3 1/2 pounds. You can bet I'll be cranking the heavy metal music next time I'm making pizza. I picked it up on ebay for $15 delivered.

I have yet to road test this behemoth but rest assured, I'll post pics when I do.

I've found that if I periodically lift the lid just a bit, I can easily rotate it without losing any significant heat. Since my flame is evenly distributed underneath, the air flow through the top seems to be what was affecting the eveness of cooking. Rotating the lid evens that out quite a bit.

I was playing around with the same idea before using a BGE inside the lid. How does the skriddle hold up the heat? And how's the airflow?

On Friday, which is tomorrow, I'm gonna pick up a new addition for the LBE, but before I say anything specific or rave about it, I have to give it a test run first. But I'll post some pics as soon as I have it.

Wuzup Home Skillets? Ha, as you may have gathered from the opening line, I've incorporated a fresh new exciting mod to my LBE. Yes, I picked up a skillet or technically a griddle and mounted it in the lid in place of the stone that was originally there. I surgically removed the handles and drilled a hole in the skillet and then mounted it to the lid via a centrally located hole with a furniture T nut and a 1/4" x 20 bolt.

The clearance between the cooking surface and the skillet is just shy of 2", perfecto as they say in Italy. The skillet is one heavy duty chunk of metal tipping the scales at a massive 3 1/2 pounds. You can bet I'll be cranking the heavy metal music next time I'm making pizza. I picked it up on ebay for $15 delivered.

I have yet to road test this behemoth but rest assured, I'll post pics when I do.

Bang your head, metal health'll drive you mad.......Villa Roma

« Last Edit: May 16, 2008, 12:11:54 AM by Essen1 »

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Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein